Mud Springs took its name from springs trampled into mud by buffalo, a rare watering place on the dry plateau between Lodgepole Creek and the North Platte. Its station served the stage line and, in 1860 and 1861, the Pony Express as a home station, where riders ate and rested. The telegraph arrived in 1861 and kept the station busy after the Pony Express ended. In February 1865, Lakota and Cheyenne warriors besieged the station until troops arrived from Fort Laramie and Fort Mitchell. Bypassed by the railroad, the springs later watered Texas cattle herds on their way north.
Visiting: History Nebraska owns the 48-acre Mud Springs Station Archeological District, on the National Register since 1973. A stone monument with a Pony Express plaque, placed in 1939 when Etta A. Scherer and her children gave the site to the state, stands about 1.5 miles west of U.S. 385; follow the signs. A roadside marker is on U.S. 385. The site is open, free and unstaffed, with no facilities. Nearest towns: Dalton and Bridgeport.
Contact: History Nebraska, 402-471-3270.